Which would the Academy rather see?

Would the U.S. Naval Academy rather see: high grades in a regular class or mediocre grades in an advanced class? For example, during my freshman year, my final grades were a C- in Geometry Honors, an A+ in Concert Band, a C in Chemistry Honors, an A- in Multimedia Design, a B- in English I, a B- in Spanish I, and an A- in Civilizations. Unless something changes, I will be taking mostly regular classes in my sophomore year, which are Algebra II, Concert Band, Biology, Introduction to Computer Science, English II, Spanish II, and World History AP. Would doing excellent in these classes look better than doing mediocre in harder classes?

Take the harder classes and give it your all. Teachers will be willing to help you if they can. Looks like math and science are where you have trouble, but those are what the Academy loves to see. If, at the end of the first semester, you're just doing terribly, ask your teachers if they think you should switch to regular. But definitely try your hardest in the most advanced classes! They want Mids who look to challenge themselves, not to do well without effort.

You can do it. It might be tough, but there are so many opportunities to jump on.

You should take a close look at the standard curriculum at all of the service academies - you will discover that you are seeking to enroll in a bachelor of science curriculum at schools which traditionally have a strong emphasis on math, science, and engineering, regardless of the selected major. If you can't turn math, science, and engineering into your strong academic suit, you may want to work harder on the ROTC alternative. It's up to you to make it work. Best wishes.

You know the answer to your own question, and lest you might be a bit confused, 64 and Jett have clarified. Let me simplify. USNA would "rather" see good grades in top level courses. It is highly selective in its admission policies. You'll need to determine if you've the determination to attain the level of achievement necessary for both admission and competitiveness once you might be there. It would seem it is a function of will rather than potential in that you've been placed in the high level courses this past year.

But within context of your scenario, neither option you offered in your forced choice question is the "right" answer.